Fractured bones are often treated using fixation devices that reinforce the fractured bone and keep the fractured segments aligned during healing. The fixation devices may take a variety of forms, including casts for external fixation and bone plates for internal fixation. Bone plates are typically formed as rigid metal plates that are mounted on a fractured bone or bone segments to span or bridge the fracture. Typically, the bone plates are held in place by screws or other fasteners attached to the bone on each side of the fracture through apertures in the bone plate.
Bone plates are considered the treatment of choice for many fractured bones, especially long bones, because they are compact, permitting an early return to motion. During the fracture repairs, surgeons often need to dissect the soft tissue from the bone to help seat the bone plate properly onto the bone.
There is a need for a bone plate provided with a new design that allows surgeons to reattach the soft tissue at the anatomic location where it was dissected. Also needed is a method of fracture repair that allows securing of dissected soft tissue to the anatomic position where it was dissected, during the fracture repair.